Some of the comments were pretty encouraging, especially the ones from people who'd had measles and thought the author was nuts. Assuming it makes it through the filter I posted my own comment about the book's "that which does not kill my child makes him stronger" ideas had encouraged my to sodomize my (non-existent) eight year to build his mental toughness.

@Greasemonkey - they had Edwina Currie (batshit Tory former health minister) on BBC News being asked if, in hindsight, putting him in a position of responsibility in relation to Broadmoor (a top security mental hospital) might have been a bad idea. If I was the interviewer, I think my urge to scream 'WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?' would have been too strong...

Nenad is a 29-year-old self-described “couchsurfing drifter” who recently completed a five-month, 25,000km hitchhiking odyssey from his home in Serbia to China. An official Couchsurfing Ambassador, he has hosted 182 guests and surfed 253 couches on three continents. On his recent trip across Asia, he was detained twice on suspicion of being a terrorist. He is also a really friendly guy. This is his story.

On his program last night, Beck revealed that his intention to "go Galt" is quite literal, unveiling grandiose plans to create an entirely self-sustaining community called Independence Park that will provide its own food and energy, produce television and film content, host research and development, serve as a marketplace for products and ideas, while also housing a theme park and serving as a residential community.

At the center -- in the middle of the lake that is itself larger than all of Disney Land - Beck (with the help of David Barton) will create a massive "national archive"/learning center where people can send their children to be "deprogrammed" and elected officials can come to learn "the truth."

@Wood: Yes, Nenad managed something quite amazing. Kind of. He also happened to be a white male with dark hair, affording him some serious privilege. Though I'm sure the laid back personality and Eastern European background helped, what made that trip possible was that a)he was male, and b)he could pass as a local in most of Central Asia. Add that to the fact that guests are treated with the highest honor in the Old World... I know I'm being a huge downer here, but what he did wasn't as special as the article is making it to be. For example, my family bumped into and had lunch with a Swiss guy in the Swat Valley who was doing just about the same thing, in the year 2000.

In an appearance on NBC's "Meet The Press," Powell noted that there is a "dark vein of intolerance in some parts of the party.""What do I mean by that?," he explained. "What I mean by that is they still sort of look down on minorities."